1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digitizer and a page access support device equipped in the digitizer, and more particularly to a digitizer which allows the user to open a desired page in an assembly of papers laid efficiently, and a page access support device equipped in the digitizer.
2. Description of Related Art
A notebook personal computer is equipped with a digitizer in conjunction with a personal computer main unit, whereby the user can input the characters or figures via the digitizer into the personal computer main unit. The digitizer is typically employed in such a way that the user lays a paper-type report (e.g. notebook, or a bundle of papers for writing that are bound at the upper side and can be cut off appropriately, for instance) on a stage portion, opens the report to a page of the notebook, and writes the characters on the page, whereby the characters are left on the page and input as the data into the personal computer main unit. In addition, if the user enters a page number to input the characters, the data of the characters that the user writes on the paper is saved corresponding to the input page.
It is known that for conventional digitizers, when a user desired to open to a predetermined page of the notebook on the digitizer, the user would attempt to open to the page by judging where the desired page is located in the notebook according to one""s own estimation, thereby taking some time and labor in order to open to the desired page. This prior process being both less desirable and quite inefficient.
The present invention comprises a digitizer having a stage portion for laying an assembly of papers which are attached with a page number in an overlying order and bundled to be freely opened at any page number, and a data detecting portion for detecting contents of writing as data corresponding to the page number of a page when a user writes into the page being opened in said assembly of papers on said stage portion. In the present invention a protrusion member is also provided adjacent to a lateral face of thickness for said assembly of papers that are freely turned over on said stage portion, said protrusion member having an ascent section ascending almost obliquely to a layer direction of said lateral face of thickness from a lower end to an upper end in the layer direction of said lateral face of thickness, and said ascent section is provided with an extensive range identifying unit for identifying a range in an extending direction of said ascent section.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a digitizer and a page access support device that allows a user to efficiently open to a desired page in the notebook or book.
The assembly of papers includes, for example, a paper-type report or notebook that is in essence a bundle of writing papers appropriately bound at the upper side and cut off freely (e.g. an ordinary notebook that is bound at the left side and freely opened, a bundle of cut sheets fastened firmly at appropriate position in the left corner or left side by means of a clip or staple, or punched and held loosely by means of a ring, and the printed matter or book that is freely writable, for example). A lateral face of thickness for the assembly of papers that are freely turned over is defined to include the lateral face of thickness other than where the pages can not be turned over due to binding or fastening among the lateral face of thickness for the assembly of papers. The ascent section is ascending almost obliquely from the lower end to the upper end in the layer direction of the lateral face of thickness, or may partly level off or descend.
The extensive range identifying includes, for example, the shape, the structure, colors, and the scale. Moreover, the scale includes a structural scale such as engraving and a visual scale such as numerical value and lines.
In one embodiment of the present invention, (a) the ascent section is a slope ascending monotonously from the stage face of the state portion, and the extensive range identifying means is a color for each range on the slope, or (b) the ascent section has a step structure ascending monotonously from the stage face of the stage portion, and the extensive range identifying means is a horizontal step in the step structure.
In the digitizer, a display portion is disposed adjacent to the protrusion member on the opposite side of the stage portion to the protrusion member as seen from an upper face of the stage portion, and the display portion displays a page number and an indication mark indicating the position of the ascent section in the extending direction which is almost as high as the page with the page number. The digitizer may further comprise a page number input portion for enabling the user to input the page number, and display control means for displaying the page number input into the page number input portion and a corresponding indication mark on the display portion. The digitizer may further comprise a page number indication input portion which accepts an indication of the page number from a computer main unit, and display control means for displaying the page number input into the page number indication input portion and a corresponding indication mark on the display portion.
The digitizer may further comprise a set value input portion for enabling the user to input a total number of pages for an assembly of papers laid on the stage portion as a set value, wherein the display control means controls the position of an indication mark on the display portion, on the basis of the set value for the total number of pages which the user inputs into the set value input portion.
A page access support device of the invention comprises a stage portion for laying at a predetermined position an assembly of papers which are attached with a page number in the overlying order and bundled to be arbitrarily opened at any page number, and a protrusion member provided adjacent to a lateral face of thickness for the assembly of papers that are freely turned over on the stage portion. The protrusion member has an ascent section ascending almost obliquely to a layer direction of the lateral face of thickness in the layer direction of the lateral face of thickness, and the ascent section is provided with extensive range identifying means for identifying a range in an extending direction of the ascent section.
An example of using the page access support device is that for a book having a certain thickness laid on the stage portion such as a desk or table, the user opens a target page of the book efficiently, employing the extensive range identifying means in the ascent section of the protrusion member. The examples of book include an encyclopedia, an atlas, and a telephone directory. The assembly of papers for use with the page access support device is not limited to the book, but may be the collection of forms output from the printer and stored suitably, or the collection of forms bound to be freely writable.
With the page access support device according to another embodiment, (a) the ascent section is a slope ascending monotonously from a stage face of the stage portion, and the extensive range identifying means is a color for each range of the slope, or (b) the ascent section has a step structure ascending monotonously from a stage face of the stage portion, and the extensive range identifying means is a horizontal step of the step structure.
Additionally, the page access support device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention may be constituted as:
(c) the display portion is disposed adjacent to the protrusion member on the opposite side of the stage portion to the protrusion member as seen from an upper face of the stage portion, and the display portion displays a page number and an indication mark indicating the position of the ascent section in the extending direction which is almost as high as the page with the page number;
(d) Further comprising a page number input portion for enabling the user to input the page number, and display control means for displaying the page number input into the page number input portion and a corresponding indication mark on the display portion; or,
(e) Further comprising a page number indication input portion which accepts an indication of the page number from a computer main unit, and display control means for displaying the page number input into the page number indication input portion and a corresponding indication mark on the display portion.
Moreover, the page access support device may further comprise a set value input portion for enabling the user to input a total number of pages for an assembly of papers laid on the stage portion as a set value, wherein the display control means controls the position of an indication mark on the display portion, on the basis of the set value for the total number of pages which the user inputs into the set value input portion.